Grandfather
by Lauren Wagner
Summary: sequel to He Lives in the LS Kurt arc


It was his grandchild's crying that woke him up that morning.  
  
Groaning, he opened his eyes and he looked at his clock.  
  
It was five in the morning.  
  
Well, at least his grandchild wasn't waking them up at three in the morning anymore. That had nearly driven everyone insane, and it made him want to kill the man who had married his daughter Johanna, also known as Phaser of Excalibur.  
  
Yawning, SkyElf reached out and he shook StarPryde awake, not wanting to be alone in this. She mumbled something, swatting at him angrily. Chuckling, SkyElf shook his head and he leaned forward and nipped her ear lightly. With a yelp, she woke and slapped him across the face.  
  
"What the hell are you thinking?" she demanded, rubbing her ear lightly. "I better not be bleeding from that!"  
  
"I love you too." SkyElf chuckled softly.  
  
"Don't you start with that again, you silver tongued devil." StarPryde said, unable to hide her smile anymore. "You're lucky that I don't throw you out of this room right now!"  
  
Sliding out of bed, SkyElf went to their dresser to get some clothes out. As he changed, he looked into the mirror and he paused, looking at his reflection in quiet contemplation.  
  
In reality, he should have been dead years ago, succumbing finally to the cancer that had completely taken over his lungs. Instead, he was still alive, and with his wife and his family which began to grow with his daughter's marriage and then birth of her child; whom she named Raven, after her grandmother that she had never met.  
  
He had the Shi'ar to thank for his good health and survival. Lillandra and Xavier had been having one of their visits when Xavier brought up the point that someone close to his group was dying of lung cancer, and that no Earth technology and medicine could help him. Lillandra had given him the solution readily, having been told about SkyElf, StarPryde, and Fay's struggles before.  
  
The Shi'ar do not have the restrictions that people of Earth do in regards to cloning, and it is because of this that their technology in the field has become one where they can clone a person's organs or limbs, make sure that they are healthier and stronger than the original, and perform a flawless operation to put them in as replacements.  
  
When asked if he would agree to this procedure, SkyElf had said that he had nothing to lose by trying, and everything to gain if it came out all right in the end. So, a sample was taken and the Shi'ar were able to cultivate a perfect and healthy clone of SkyElf's lungs as a replacement for his cancer infested ones.  
  
The operation in question took five long hours, but when it was over, SkyElf's life was made considerably longer from the new lungs. His appearance and health soon became what they were before the cancer; his cobalt blue fur growing back along with his hair, and he was able to go back to his workout to get himself his muscles back.  
  
The only thing he could do now was live his life; without cigarettes.  
  
Sighing, SkyElf, slipped a shirt on over his head, wishing that he could smoke at least once a day, but everyone had pounced on him, yelling and screaming at him about getting cancer once more, and not being able to get new lungs the next time.  
  
So, SkyElf just fought down his craving for a cigarette, and he played with his grandchild and lived with his family.  
  
StarPryde's arms slowly slid around his waist, hugging him gently as she rested her chin on his shoulder.  
  
She had started to age as well, long gray hairs streaking through her hair and wrinkles slowly appearing on the edges of her eyes, mouth and on her forehead. She didn't mind the gray hairs so much, saying that it was better to have them in her hair than on her face, always ending this statement by pointing at the gray fur around SkyElf and Nightcrawler's eyes.  
  
"What are you thinking about?" she asked softly, swaying slightly with him. SkyElf shrugged slightly, his tail curling around her waist slowly.  
  
"I was thinking that I would like a cigarette actually." He said playfully. He flinched when StarPryde tweaked his ear tip hard, frowning at him angrily.  
  
"You can't smoke!" she said. "You'll get cancer again; and this time you won't be able to get a new pair of lungs to save yourself!" Sighing, SkyElf shrugged a bit, turning around and hugging her.  
  
"I know." He said. "But those patches and the gum aren't working like they should be! Besides, I would only smoke one a day." Frowning, StarPryde phased through his arms and she left the room in a huff, not looking back. Shaking his head, SkyElf sighed and he looked up at the ceiling, silently asking God to help him deal with his headstrong but well-meaning wife before he left the room to go and see how his granddaughter was doing.  
  
His granddaughter was laughing when he got to the bedroom door. Looking inside, he could tell why, and he smiled slightly, his tail curling up slightly as he leaned against the wall of her room.  
  
They had painted the room sky blue and cotton candy pink, mixing them together as they painted scenes with Nymphs and Faeries in a fantasyland. Toys and stuffed animals were everywhere, making the room a veritable Disneyland for the child. There was also her crib, a large wooden thing that Logan had carved for her, and then had Piotr polish and paint it the same colors as the rest of the room.  
  
Over her head, there would hang a little mobile that Pete, Bobby, and Gambit had made for her. It was made out of playing cards that had been permanently iced over by Bobby so that she could chew on them and not ruin them. When they were spun around slowly, an old Cajun lullaby would play with chimes that Pete had made by melting down and molding some old pipes and the like.  
  
At the moment; Kurt, Phaser, her husband Josef, and Rahne were playing with Raven, making her laugh as they performed little stunts and the like for her. Turning into a full wolf, Rahne curled up on the floor and let the small child crawl over and curl up with her, tugging on her ears and tail as she gave them all a toothless grin.  
  
She was a mixture of her mother and her father, who was a common human Phaser had rescued and then fallen in love with. She had her mother's eyes and her hands, but the rest of her was "normal", her hair curly and black and her feet small and with five toes each.  
  
"She's beautiful." SkyElf nodded slightly, curling his tail around StarPryde's waist as she stood beside him.  
  
"She takes after all of the women in the family." He whispered, tilting his head to one side and smiling slightly. "Her great-grandmother, her grandmother, and finally her own mother."  
  
"I'm sorry that I walked out on you." StarPryde said, resting her head on his shoulder lightly. He kissed her on the top of her head lightly, smiling as he closed his eyes slowly.  
  
"It's nothing." He said gently, his tail flicking it away. "That's the good thing about being old, we don't keep grudges going for years and years, right?" he asked. Smiling, StarPryde nodded and she kissed him on the cheek before she went over to play with her granddaughter.  
  
"Raven! Where's Raven?" she asked, bending down slightly and spreading her arms out wide. Giggling, Raven stopped tugging on Rahne's tail and she crawled over to her grandmother, letting her sweep her into her arms and spin her around the room slowly. She clapped her tri-fingered hands in joy, gurgling all the while.  
  
"Her mobile stopped playing the music." Kurt explained to SkyElf as he walked up slightly. "It had stopped spinning and it woke her up and made her cry." Looking at the mobile, SkyElf poked it with his tail lightly, making it turn and start to play music again.  
  
"It's not broken is it?" he asked. Kurt shook his head, poking the mobile with his own tail once to make sure.  
  
"No, I think it just stopped turning." He said, shaking his head a bit. "Maybe we can talk Forge into doing something about that? Maybe do something to that it will keep turning and playing the music for as long as we want it to?" SkyElf, shrugged faintly, letting Raven play with his tail.  
  
"It's worth a try." He said. "She really loves this mobile. It would be a shame if it was broken." Kurt nodded, placing his hands on his hips as he looked at it.  
  
"Yeah. She really likes this thing doesn't she?"  
  
"It makes you want to have one of your own doesn't it?" SkyElf asked slyly. Kurt swatted at him lightly with his tail, laughing softly.  
  
"Don't you start that again!" he said. "I haven't found the right woman yet, so stop trying to guilt me into getting married and having a child!"  
  
"Well what are you waiting for?" SkyElf asked, placing his hands on his hips. "You're mother and I aren't getting any younger, and your sister has all ready given us a grandchild to spoil. All we need is one from you!" Rolling his eyes, Kurt shook his head.  
  
"You're impossible." He said.  
  
"Thank you. Now where is my grandchild?" SkyElf asked, smiling faintly. Kurt punched him lightly on the arm.  
  
"Wait a while, old man." He said. "You can't rush these things!" SkyElf poked him on the nose.  
  
"You had just better give me a grandchild at some point when I'm still living." He said. "I and your mother will make your life miserable if you don't!" Kurt snorted softly.  
  
"I'll keep that in mind." He said.  
  
In the afternoon, SkyElf was lying on his back in front of the TV, holding Raven over his head with one hand on her belly. The others were out, some on missions, and others to get some things from here and there, leaving him alone with his granddaughter.  
  
"It's just you and me, Raven." He whispered softly, smiling at her. "And I think you and I are going to have lots of fun before anyone gets back!" Skillfully, he tossed her into the air and he sat up, catching her again easily, making her burst into fresh peals of laughter.  
  
SkyElf and Raven had fun the rest of the afternoon by themselves. When Raven was done with being tossed around, he let her play with his tail while he prepared her lunch of mashed carrots and applesauce. He let her eat the applesauce, and then play with the mashed carrots when she was finished eating the applesauce. He cleaned up the mess and pulled out some of her favorite toys and stuffed dolls to let her play with while he cleaned up the rest of the house.  
  
When SkyElf was finished, he was tired, but he continued to play with Raven, using his feet, hands, and tail to make her dolls dance for her. This made her laugh uproariously, and SkyElf smiled as he watched his granddaughter show her joy at his antics.  
  
He watched his granddaughter play for a while with a lazy smile, his tail curling around his ankles slightly.  
  
This was what his life had led up to; him and his granddaughter playing together. Never in all of his years on his home world had he thought that he would ever have children, let alone grandchildren to raise and play with. Yet here he was, an old man watching his granddaughter stack hoops onto a plastic pole from the biggest to the smallest ones.  
  
Things couldn't be better for him. Every day he thanked God for giving him so many things; from escaping his world with StarPryde, all the way down to his granddaughter Raven that was now sitting on his lap, yawning up at him as she curled up and closed her eyes to go to sleep.  
  
Smiling, SkyElf slowly got up and he cradled her in his arms as he went and laid down on his bed, looking down at the tiny thing in his arms. Tilting his head to one side, he looked down at her and his eyes slowly drooped down.  
  
He loved this life of his, and he was grateful to the Shi'ar for making it last longer for him and his family. If not for them, he would not be here now, falling asleep with his granddaughter sleeping his arms.  
  
A few hours later, the others come back, laughing and talking about this and that.  
  
"Nightcrawler, go and get that husband of mine! We're going out for dinner tonight." StarPryde said, helping Fay unpack the groceries. Nodding, Nightcrawler went into the bedroom. Stopping, he smiled and shook his head slightly.  
  
"StarPryde!" he whispered. "Come quick!"  
  
"What's going..."  
  
"Shh!" he hissed. Cocking an eyebrow, StarPryde fell silent and she looked into the room. Slowly, she smiled and she shook her head slightly.  
  
SkyElf was still sleeping, Raven resting on his chest, looking around the room with her thumb in her mouth quietly. 


End file.
